Super Neko
by Tairi Soraryu
Summary: The secret nighttime diary of one Souma Kyou, Super Neko, who lives a life of shadows, adventure, and clandestine operations beneath the radar of his friends and family...Writing Challenges 1 and 2
1. The Cardboard Box

Disclaimer: Sole property of Takaya Natsuki-sama.

This started out as a "Writing Challenge" on my friend's Anime RPG message board (tactless plug for interested members to join). There's an unofficial 10-minute additional time challenge to help improve the quality of writing-under-pressure as well as the standard: We're given an object, any object our board admin deems appropriate, and we are to write a blurb—interesting, funny, sad, poignant, whatever—about it from the POV from our character. Hope you enjoy!

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**Super Neko**

**Chapter One:  
The Cardboard Box**

The box sat in the corner. It had fallen on its side after Momiji had ripped it open in his eagerness to get to the present inside. What had ever overcome Kyou to urge him to buy the little bunny-boy a birthday present was beyond him, but there it was. And Momiji, teary-eyed with joy and speechlessness at Kyou's gift--the first-release copy of the newly released "Mogeta the Movie 3: Mogeta Returns Again"--had left the best of the present behind, laying haphazardly on its side.

The real present lay open and waiting for attack.

His eyes darted, first to the right, then to the left, then to the right again. The room was dark, the house was silent, the moon was hidden by clouds in the endless sky above. His feet made no noise as he padded with stealthy steps across the quiet room, his sharp eyesight easily picking out his target. His nose twitched as the slight breeze through the back door, left ajar by the last careless person to enter, brought to him the tantalizing smells of grass and crickets and the faint, soft scent of a lone mouse.

It was so easy. So close. And yet...so far away.

Would they notice? He risked a nervous glance over his shoulder. Would anyone wake up? He wasn't planning on making a lot of noise, but sometimes he just couldn't control himself. There were times when even his remarkable and admirable self-restraint reached its limits.

Perhaps, he thought as a sweep of apprehension nearly shattered his resolve, perhaps it'd be best not to do this. Not now, at least. But it called to him. He swallowed, his eyes darting once more to the open doorway, wishing he could slide the door shut to offer himself just a little more protection from the openness of the house's living room.

But he couldn't stop himself. The calling was so sweet, so irresistible, a siren's song that wrapped its tentacles around him and drew him forward even as muscles quivered in fear, in the exhilaration of the unknown, and dangerous. He felt like a criminal for creeping around in his own house, but there were some things that required the utmost secrecy, even from his closest friends.

Especially from his closest friends.

Kyou's throat was tight with anticipation, and his own breathing sound like rapid, faint rasps to his own ears. He crouched, tensing his body as he peered around the low floor cushions that impeded his view. The stalk had ended, and his prey lay open and defenseless in the open. In one leap, one single bound, he would have what he wanted...

His legs propelled him forward, and he landed with a graceful _thump_ within the hidden depths of the cardboard box. The tall, stiff paper walls rose over his head, and a purr rumbled deep in his chest as he flexed his forepaws, digging his claws into the delicious sponginess beneath his feet. His tail swept up, his back arching in pure pleasure, as he attacked the four walls around him, bumping it around the room as he fought invisible enemies within the compounds of the miniature playpen.

A blinding light stopped him mid-lunge, and Kyou let out a high-pitched yowl of frustration, indignation, and instinctive embarrassment as two blond-haired faces peered down at him.

"_Chikusho!_" Uotani Arisa smirked down at him in astonishment. "Kyonkyon, _what_ are you doing in there?"

Chortling merrily, Momiji waited as Uotani reached down to pick up the bristling and wailing orange cat out of the box. He waited until he was sure Uotani had a good hold of Kyou before lifting the videocamera in his hand. "Got it all, Kyoo!" he chuckled wickedly. "I think we'll send a copy of your nighttime fiasco to Shishoo, see what he thinks."

And Kyou, deflated, knew he'd been caught.

They had discovered...the nighttime wanderings of Super Neko!

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1.23.05 

**NOTE:** In the manga, Momiji refers to Kyou in katakana as "Kyo--", so I used a double OO in Kyou's name instead of the usual OU to signify his weird way of naming him. I figured, Momiji would usually do the same for ShishOU...


	2. Potato Chips

Disclaimer: Huh. Still not mine, eh?

Don't ask why he's in cat form. He just…is.

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**Super Neko**

Chapter Two:  
Potato Chips

Kyou's eyes went to slits as he stared longingly at the bag sitting on the counter. It was an appealing and eye-catching color of lime green--not exactly your typical color-association for potato chips.

But this wasn't your average, typical bag of potato chips.

These were _the_ potato chips. The only ones Kyou liked. The only ones Kyou wanted. They were sweet and spicy and salty, crisp and crunchy and just oily enough to leave a delicious sheen over your fingertips so you could lick them clean. Light and airy, delectable and oh-so irresistible, just waiting for him to dive right in.

_If_ he could break the seal.

Kyou leapt lightly up to the countertop, his claws making light 'clicking' noises as they rapped against the white tile surface. A low purr rumbled in his throat, and he paused to lick a casual tongue over his itchy shoulder--rasping a little as a few strands of fur came loose--before rubbing the side of his throat against the bag. They were so alluring, so close, and yet so far away.

Cats don't have opposable thumbs.

His purr became a deep-throated rumble of dissatisfaction and annoyance as he sank his teeth into the crackly and distasteful packaging, trying to bite through the protective layers that kept those chips so delightfully crisp and fresh. But modern technology foiled him, and he growled in frustration as his persistent attempts were repelled one after another.

Muttering angrily, Kyou pawed at the bag in a helpless gesture to try to open the top, but the bag merely slid across the slick countertop towards him, as unopenable as before. A hiss slipped out from his throat before Kyou could catch himself and remind himself that he was, most importantly, _not_ a cat. But his reaction was purely feline, and it was surprisingly satisfying, so he let loose another sibilant hiss, pulling back his lips and baring his needle-sharp fangs at the offending object.

But cats are notoriously ingenius, and, grabbing the bag between his teeth, Kyou dropped it over the edge of the counter to the floor, springing lightly to four, well-padded paws beneath it with the barest of 'thumps'. The tip of his tail twitched as he dragged his prize across the floor, up the stairs, past Yuki's closed bedroom door--dumb mouse, sleeping all night long--and into his own room.

Kyou's sharp eyes picked out, through the nighttime darkness, the jagged edge of broken glass of the picture frame lying on his desk. He'd accidentally knocked it off earlier that evening, when he'd still been human, and the glass panel had shattered. He hadn't gotten around to cleaning it up yet, which was just as good, because this was the answer to his potato chip cravings.

It was a little more difficult to make the jump up onto the desk with the potato chips in his mouth, but Kyou managed somehow and, dragging it across the broken glass, caught the packaging. The most beautiful sound in the world, Kyou thought as he carefully nudged his midnight snack away from the hazards of the glass, was the ripping of plastic/foil, the opening of the way to paradise.

He stuck his head deep into the bag, inhaled for the pure delight of absorbing the scent of potato chips, and snatched up the first chip into his mouth.

"YUCK!"

Kyou made the face of a disgusted cat; his ears went back, his little pink nose wrinkled, a frown creased his forehead. His tongue shot out, and his mouth opened wide as he gagged reflexively, spitting small, unchewed bits of chip all over the floor below.

Cats don't have human taste buds.

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2.14.05 

Well, this one wasn't half as fun to write as the first one. The idea sort of dragged on and out, and I'm sorry the broken-glass idea wasn't terribly aamusing or original. I thought I'd continue the Super Neko theme, though...Don't ask why he's in cat form, though. I have no idea! )


End file.
